This invention relates to an improved arrowrest adapted for use in association with an archery bow.
In an archery bow, an arrow is normally suspended within a cutout in a bow riser atop an arrowrest, such as on the support arms thereof. Many conventional arrowrest mounting apparatuses allow the arrowrest to rotate or pivot forward, in a direction away from a discharged arrow shaft, and also cause the arrowrest to immediately return to an original set position by applying a return bias force either directly or indirectly to the arrowrest. For example, such arrowrests commonly employ a spring bias. Such spring bias typically may be either in the vertical or horizontal plane and may either have an adjustable or fixed spring rate. Arrowrests of this type have been known to those skilled in the art for some time.
FIG. 1 illustrates one form of arrowrest and associated mounting apparatus, as is know in the art. More specifically, the arrowrest A is fastened or otherwise mounted on a rotatable support shaft S and joined to an associated mounting bracket B. In FIG. 1, the arrowrest A is shown in solid line form in a first or normal position and in phantom in a second or actuated position.
Commonly assigned Mizek, U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,381, issued Mar. 3, 1998, the disclosure of which is fully incorporated herein by reference, discloses an improved apparatus for adjustably mounting a pivotal arrowrest.
High-speed photography has clearly shown that when an arrow has been fired from a bow, the associated arrowrest is deflected away from the arrow. Such photography also has shown that the arrowrest may return to the "normal" position before the arrow has totally passed the arrowrest. Very commonly, the fletching (e.g., vanes or feathers) strikes the arrowrest with such force that it may result in some deflection or misdirection of the arrow. Such deflection may cause the arrow to strike an object or location other than the intended target. Such deflection may also create premature wear on the fletching such as may necessitate expensive and time-consuming replacement thereof at a point in time sooner than otherwise desired. Lastly, such contact of the arrowrest by the fletching may additionally create undesired noise. As will be appreciated, such noise can be of great concern as such noise may have the undesired effect of scaring game animals when a bow is used for hunting.
Prior attempts to achieve improved arrow clearance during release have met with varying success. For example, prior devices frequently employ arrowrests that are biased as to "fall away" upon the release of the bowstring. Such devices commonly rely on mechanical means to pull the arrowrest out of the way of the associated arrow. As will be appreciated, such mechanical means may undesirably or unacceptably suffer from shortcomings, disadvantages or limitations such as relating to increased complexity, bulkiness, expense or combinations thereof. Some of these prior device utilize changes in inertia to activate the arrowrest return mechanism. However, it is generally undesirable to employ a bow that produces large changes in inertia as an archer may perceive this as recoil.
Thus, there is a need and a demand for an improved arrowrest and, in particular, there is a need and demand for an arrowrest having a return rate of motion that is less than a discharge rate of motion, such as to enable a respective arrow to totally clear the arrowrest before returning to the normal position.